Harry Potter and the Surprising Marriage Contract
by SoapBox Bill
Summary: Harry has found himself in a dire need. He is desperate to find a date to the Yule Ball but the universe seems to have it out for him. Or does it? With the simple act of asking out two of the most attractive girls in his year he has set in motion a binding contract. As if one wasn't enough for one year. but this one will have some benefits of two very pretty witches
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone sorry for being away for so long. The holidays were stressful and my mom has been in and out of the hospital. At one point we thought we were going to lose her. She just got home from the hospital and some heavy chemo treatments that took her nearly 5 weeks to recover from. She was able to be home for the holidays before starting this new treatment. Needless to say I have not had a lot of time to write as I would have liked. Spiders in the league is now on hold for a while and I am going to focus on spectacular summer and this new story I am starting. **

**last year I tried my hand at a harry potter story as a bit of a challenge to other authors as an AU starting point called Black Family Beginnings. However no one has taken me up on the challenge yet and I have started to work on my own ideas for that particular plot bunny. This story however is not based on that jumping point I made in BFB. This is a story that starts about half way through 4th year. That's right it is from just before the Yule Ball that this story will branch out. Some inspiration for this story came from others like it that I have read usually were the pairing is Harry/Fleur. However the pairing for this story will be Harry/Padma/Parvati and a marriage contract will be involved but not the typical you have to marry or you die type contract. Also for the two girls I am going to borrow a device I really liked from the story searching for the power from the HPFanFicArchive website. It is a good story, check it out. Suffice it to say the device I am using for the twins involves one soul, two bodies, multiple personalities and a dash of schizophrenia. Well that's enough talking let's get this show on the road!**

Harry was having a bad couple of days. The Yule Ball was fast approaching and his luck finding a date seemed to amount to nothing. First he asks Cho who said she already going with Cedric. Then he asked his teammate Katie Bell who like Cho was one year older then him but she also already had a date. The only good news he got from that was Katie agreeing to teach him to dance. Finally he was going to ask Hermione, his best friend, if she would go with him only for that to blow up before he even got the chance to ask her. 'Ron really can be an idiot sometimes' he thought. Yet still Ron was pressuring Harry to not only find his own date but one for Ron as well. 'Lazy git'

All this on top of being forced to compete in a tournament that might kill him and having already just barely escaped with his life out flying a dragon. Most of the school seemed to still be against him. And that just made his current problem even harder. 'Universe please where the hell am I going to find two single witches that would go to the ball?'

"Hi Harry" the Patil twins greeted with a smile as they passed by him.

"Thank you universe" Harry muttered before speaking up. "Parvati, Padma could you hold up a minute? I would like to ask you something."

The girls stopped in the hallway and turned to face the emerald eyed wizard. "Sure Harry what do you need?" Parvati responded with a light blush her sister had a bit more blush. Both girls had a crush on harry but their father had told them growing up that he was nothing like what the stories made him out to be. He told them that like all people the boy should be judged by his own merits and what they could find out about him personally. So far the twins had compiled a list of traits that described Harry Potter; he was a little bit shy but at times had this commanding aura that made you want to be around him. He knew very little about the wizarding world but seemed to have an innate grasp on practical magic even if his theory was lacking. Parvati learned that this lack of knowledge came from the fact that he was raised by his muggle relatives and from what she was able to piece together they did not treat him very well. He was a very powerful wizard and was rumored to have defeated you-know-who his first year, a basilisk his second year and drove off a swarm of hundreds of dementors his third year. Everyone knew he could conjure a patronus and with his power it wasn't a hard feat to imagine him doing so. In short both girls were sure they had a crush on Harry Potter not the-boy-who-lived as many others did.

Their blushing caused Harry to get a bit nervous. "Um well I was wondering if anyone has asked you out to the Yule ball yet?" the girls shook their heads no as he took a deep breath and continued. "Wouldyouliketogototheballwithme" he blurted out as his nerves got to him.

Both girls looked at him for a few seconds trying to figure out what he said. Then it hit them. "Are you asking us to go with you to the Ball?" Padma inquired for the first time looking directly at him. Harry just nodded in reply. The two girls looked at each other than felt a tingling in their magic and both their eyes went wide.

"Parv"

"The contract, but he"

"The tournament"

"He's a"

"Which means"

"He is a legal"

The girls seemed to be doing their own version of the Weasley twins Twin-speak and this one seemed to be even harder to follow at least to harry it seemed that way.

"Harry" he looked up to the Ravenclaw twin. "Perhaps we should continue this discussion in private." she said as her sister opened the door to an unused classroom and ushered them both in and the three of them sat down at a table together.

"Okay Harry what we are about to tell you is kinda complicated." Padma started

"Even we don't know all the details." Parvati added

"But suffice it to say a betrothal contract has now been activated for us." Padma finished allowing Harry a moment to process the information.

Though he did not know a lot about wizarding families or politics he did know what a betrothal contract was. "So I am guessing you can't go to the Yule ball because now you are each engaged to somebody else right?" his features slumping at the rotten timing of it all.

Parvati was the one to clarify. "No Harry when we say a contract for us we do not mean just me and my sister. We mean for all of us. Between me, Padma and... You."

Harry did what he normally did when he was confronted with strange and complicated news. He tilted his head to the right and went "Huh"

Parvati blushed and her sister giggled "You are right Parv; he is adorable when he does that." Harry blushed as she continued. "As far as we know your parents along with our father had plans for the three of us to grow up together and be quite close. It was decided that a contract would be written up so that when we came of age we would be engaged once you proposed to the both of us. If it turned out that we just didn't click or connect like that then our parents could dissolve the contract and there would be no consequences."

Padma took a breath and her sister took over. "Now according to the contract the proposal would have to be within 6 months after you harry reach your majority being a recognized adult. So we should have had three more years before making a decision but with this tournament..." she turned to her sister who nodded. "We think that because you are being forced to compete in this tournament that is only open to those who are legal adults that means that you are in a legal sense an adult thus activating the contract."

The room was silent for a while as harry processed the information.

"So let me get this straight." harry said looking at the two. "Because my parents signed a contract with your father and because I am being forced to compete in this bloody tournament and because I asked you two to the Yule Ball we are now engaged?" the twins nodded hesitantly. Harry's head impacted the table with a thwack and a muttering of "why universe? Why can it never be simple?"

"The good news is that there is no set time limit on when we would have to get married." Padma said trying to find a silver lining. "And there is still a way out. I am not sure of the details exactly but the contract can be nullified if we all decide not to get married." Harry perked up at the sound of that. "However we must have been engaged for a certain length of time first, there are a few other clauses in there that make it tricky but easily doable."

"So then we are engaged until some time when we can get out of the contact?" harry asked

"Don't say it like that Harry." Parvati grinned "Most boys would be over the moon at the thought of being with two hot twins." she added with a saucy smirk. "Besides it will be a while before we could get out of it so why not enjoy our time together? Who knows maybe it will all work out and we will live happily ever after."

Padma nodded as her blush receded. "I have to agree with my sister on that. This was something out parents wanted for us. Maybe they knew what they were doing. I know father is coming for the ball to check up on us and the school. He will defiantly want to talk to you about this."

Now Harry's eyes went wide again. Meeting his girlfriends'/fiancés' father the same night as the first date and at a ball he was already nervous about attending, Voldemort just moved down the list of things that scared him. "And your father is..." he trailed off hoping that their father was a friendly guy.

"Samesh Patil is our father." Parvati said with a smile "He is the Indian Magical Ambassador to England."

"Oh bloody hell." was Harry's only reply.

Later in the Gryffindor common room

"So let me get this straight." Ron glared at Harry having just told him about what happened with the Patil twins. "Not only did you not get me a date for the ball but you somehow managed to get two for yourself?"

Harry sighed at his friend's jealous tone. "No Ron I was going to ask Padma and Parvati if they wanted to go with us. One with me and one with you. I had no idea that there was some crazy betrothal contract between the three of us. Ron had I not been in this bloody tournament it wouldn't have come into effect."

"Yes Ron you're being totally unfair to Harry" Hermione said defending her best friend. "I mean he is being forced not only to compete in this deathtrap of a tournament but now he is being forced to get engaged. Betrothal contracts I mean how barbaric."

"Um well based on what Harry said the contract he is in is actually very lax." Neville said from the couch as the three others turned to him "some of the older contracts if broken meant those involved died or were driven insane. There were even clauses that could force a wife to submit to the will of her husband. They aren't used much anymore and most now are usually written up as a formality or to solidify an alliance between houses."

Hermione looked horrified at what she had heard. Stripping away free will, deadly punishments should they break the contract. Her only solace was that they were not a common place.

"Wow Nev you sure do know your stuff about this." Harry nodded to the shy Gryffindor

Ron glared at the boy while Neville himself smiled with great pride. He had been trying to come out of his shell and his recent feat of daring, asking Ginny Weasley out to the ball, had given him the courage to start speaking up for himself. "Gran says I need to know all this stuff for when I become head of house Longbottom. I am surprised Dumbledore hasn't been teaching you Harry, House Potter was a political power house and is one of the few most Ancient and Most noble houses left."

Harry let out a sigh, again something Dumbledore should have told him. "Hey Nev you think you could help me learn about this kind of stuff?" both Ron and Hermione turned to him with shock on their faces though for very different reasons. "What? If I am going to be the head of some Ancient and noble house I should know what I am doing. Not to mention being engaged to the daughters on the Indian magical ambassador."

"Their father is Samesh Patil?" Neville asked as he recognized the name. Harry nodded "Wow I had no idea." was Neville's only reply.

Hermione was puzzled by this reaction to who the twin's father was. Sure being a very important political figure and an ambassador was impressive but going by Neville's reaction it must mean something more. "So what can you tell us about him Neville? Parvati usually doesn't talk a lot about her family besides her sister." was Hermione's reply both her and harry leaning in curious to learn more.

"Ambassador Patil is well known in the political sphere here in England. He is not particularly liked by quite a few people both because he is a foreigner and because he has a complete lack of any kind of prejudice. His moto is to judge a person not based on their bloodline or heritage but by their own merits and character. This doesn't usually mix well with the pureblood traditionalists." Nevil paused seeing both Harry and Hermione's faces smiling a bit at learning what kind of man Samesh was. "He is also the only son of the current magical king of India."

The golden trio were all shocked at this revelation which was summed up in a single word. "Fuck"

One week later, the night of the Yule Ball

Harry stood waiting on Padma and Parvati just down the stairs from Gryffindor tower. The girls told him to wait there so they could make an entrance. He was not alone in their waiting for his dates. It seemed quite a few other girls told their dates the same thing. both Fred and George were leaning up against a wall, Neville was pacing a bit his nerves evident, Dean leaning opposite of the twins, and most surprisingly Victor Krum was also among those assembled there.

Everyone turned to the stairway as they heard someone coming. "Alright boys." Katie Bell smiled as she descended the stairs in her elegant sky blue dress. "Get ready to get your socks knocked off. I would love to stay and watch but I believe my own date is waiting for me." she smirked at the obvious effect she was having on some of the boys before turning the corner to go meet up with her own date.

The next Lady to come down the stairs had Neville fighting to contain his blush. Ginny Weasley was wearing a conservative but flattering dress with a pale silver top and emerald green skirt that really brought out her red hair. She blushed as she approached Neville who hesitantly took her arm after noticing the grins and thumbs up her two older brothers were giving him. The two then left the group proceeding down to the great hall.

"I think they make a cute couple don't you agree Gred?"

"Why yes I do Feorge. They are cute together in that kind of awkward way."

The rest of the boys nodded with the twins as the next lovely lady descended the stairs. They didn't have to wait long as Lavender Brown slowly descended the stairs in her simple yet elegant pale pink dress. Taking dean by the arm the two made their way down to the Ball.

The Gryffindor boys chuckled at Lavender's obvious excitement about the ball but were broken out of it as Krum approached the stairs. On his arm was a girl with curly brown hair wearing a Purplish pink dress and the three Gryfs had no idea who it was.

Until realization dawned on Harry. "Hermione?" he asked receiving a nod and a smile. "Wow you look fantastic!"

"You do too Harry, and wait till you guys see your dates I think you are in for a nice surprise." she said with a knowing smirk. "See you at the ball." she finished as Krum escorted her away.

"What could she mean by that?" harry said turning to the twins who were not paying him the least bit of attention. Their gaze was focused firmly on the two girls descending the stairs. Angelina and Alicia, the remaining two chasers were dressed to kill. Angelina was wearing a strapless dark red dress that contrasted well with her dark skin. Alicia was wearing a halter top midnight black dress. Both showed off their athletic figures and both were smiling at the struck dumb looks of their boyfriends. Too stunned to make any kind of jokes the twins once they regained their senses bowed to their dates, each taking one of their hands and giving it a kiss before escorting the ladies to the great hall. Their antics drawing a bit of blush from the girls.

Harry thought about what this meant for him. Over the past few days he had gotten really close to the Patil twins opening up to them more and more. He had even told them about his own childhood growing up with the Dursleys. Though he kept the full extent of their abuse to himself he had never shared that with anyone except the school nurse madam Pomfrey who had seen the scars on his back.

Over those few days he found himself genuinely enjoying their company even becoming a bit affectionate. When Padma came into the Gryffindor common room to get ready for the ball with her sister she gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading up to the girls dorms.

He was broken from his thoughts by a twin call of "Harry" from the stairs and he looked up gasping at what he saw.

In a word the two of them were stunning, though that could be said about them every day but in their gowns they looked positively divine. Both were wearing the same single sleeve dress only one was a mirror of the other. Padma's had her sleeve running down her left arm while her sister had it on the right. As for coloration both had the same colors of a deep rich red and dark purple. The patterns mirroring each other, Parvati reminding harry of a sunrise while Padma reminded him of a sunset. The only thing that was the same on both was the golden sash that called attention to their curvy figures.

"We should get going Harry we wouldn't want to be late." Parvati smiled as she took her place on his right side while her sister took the left and the three of them made their way to the great hall looking like the happiest people in the world.

Outside the great hall the champions gathered. Hermione smiled at Harry while the Cedric looked at him with a mix of amazement and a touch of envy. Cho had a bit more envy in her eyes and a jealous glare for the two Indian witches. Rodger Davies who at first was sure he had the most beautiful girl when Fleur said yes to him glared at Harry for what he thought was the younger boy's attempt to show him up. He tried to pull Fleur closer to him but the French veela was having none of it and sent him a fiery glare of her own to behave.

When McGonagall saw them however the look on her face assured them the stern teacher was taking this first dance very seriously however a slight smirk was hidden at seeing Harry and his dates. "Mr. Potter you always seem to surprise me by going above what is usually expected, but when I informed you that you would need a date for the opening dance of the ball I had expected you to only have one date." she said with a bit of mirth. Cedric and Hermione smiling and laughing a bit under their breath.

"It's a bit more complicated then that professor." harry replied sheepishly

"Now that does not surprise me." the Professor said truthfully. "I hope you can decide which young lady will be dancing with you for the opening dance?"

Harry looked nervously from one twin to the other and seeing the nervousness on his face they decided to make the decision for him.

"Best two out of three?" Parvati said to her sister receiving a nod in confirmation. The twin girls then had a quick round of rock, paper, and scissors with Parvati coming out on top to dance the opening dance of the ball with Harry. She took Harry's arm and lined up with the rest of the champions for the opening dance.

As the music began to play the doors to the great hall opened at the champions marched into the hall taking their positions. Padma snuck in after them and took her place at one of the champions' tables and waited for the opening dance to conclude so the feast part of the ball would then begin.

As the music changed from the entry marching tune to a slow ballroom chord the champions took their partners and began to dance. Harry was thankful that Katie Bell, his team mate and sort of big sister had taught him how to dance in the week leading up to the ball. Though she had a date already herself she said "I have to make sure my little brother doesn't step all over the toes of whatever lucky lady he gets."

Parvati was surprised at his dancing skills as they twirled around the dance floor. Of all the things she thought about harry, his bravery his kindness and his incredible power she honestly had not expected him to be a dancer. She was all smiles as she leaned in closer to harry. She enjoyed being in his presence and the intimacy of such close contact made her heart race.

From her seat at the table Padma had to fight the urge to moan. Though it was her sister dancing with Harry she could feel all the emotions, the excitement, the passion, and the hint of lust her sister was giving off. Twins in the mundane world usually are very close, in the magical world they are even more close and in sync, and the Weasley twins are a perfect example of this. However this was not the case for the Patil twins. Most think that because they are in two different houses they must be vastly different people. This however could not be further from the truth. The bond they shared was even deeper than any others in recorded history. The fact of it was they were not two different people but rather one person with two bodies. This was further complicated by their parents raising them as if they were two separate people. Their father would often take Parvati with him to the office when they were younger while their mother would read to Padma. This caused them to develop two different personalities; however the personalities were not always tied to the same bodies. As children they slept in the same room and in the same bed so if they woke up on the other side of the bed that they went to sleep on it was easily dismissed. However when they were 7 Padma had fallen asleep in the family library, she had remembered being in the library all day but she woke up in bed and in pajamas. Her sister came charging into the room wearing the exact same cloths that Padma had been wearing the day before. Needless to say they were a bit scared but eventually they got through it. It was still scary when Padma woke up in the Gryffindor girls' dorm the first time.

They found that through their bond they could feel things the other felt, if they concentrated they could even share thoughts with each other. Not only that they could draw on each other's magic and when they performed spells together they were much more potent.

As the song finished Harry and Parvati came and sat down next to Padma as everyone else sat down for the dinner. Both Harry and Parvati were coming off the high of their first dance and didn't notice when an older man joined them at their table. "It seems that both my daughters are quite taken with you Mr. Potter."

Harry nearly jumped out of his seat and flushed as he faced the man and began stuttering. "Um I um sir and."

"Haha relax Mr. Potter. If I had a problem with you being with my daughters I would have never signed that contract with your parents." Samesh smiled "I assume you have some questions for me about that contract, and I find few things help relax people for such a discussion like a good meal."

As the four finished eating Harry looked at Samesh. "So sir this contract is there any way out of it? I mean I really do like Padma and Parvati but from what Neville have told me these contracts can be pretty severe."

"Now Harry, may I call you Harry?" Samesh asked receiving a nod before continuing. "The contract does not have any such punishment clauses like you were thinking about. This situation is something that we never thought would happen. This also makes using the exit clause a bit more tricky. Normally if the contract was enacted with the three of you underage then myself and your parents could sign the first exit clause, however sadly that is no longer possible." Harry got a sad look on his face and the twins each took one of his hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. "However there is still another exit clause that could be use but under that part of the contract you would have had to have all been of age."

"So basically we are engaged until we are 17?" Harry asked.

"Simply put yes. Though there are no punishment clauses if we disregarded the contract it would be a stain on the honor of both of our families."

Harry thought about this and he had to admit he liked the twins and as far as girlfriends go they were really supportive and patient with his issues. They never pressed but he felt like opening up to them. Then the music changed and Padma gave his arm a gentle tug, "Harry you still owe me a dance." she smiled as she got up from her chair.

"If you will excuse me Mr. Patil, my fiancé' has requested my presence on the dance floor." he said with a smile as he followed Padma to the dance floor.

Samesh smiled as they walked off then turned to his remaining daughter. "How is he really?"

"He is great daddy. I honestly think he is starting to really starting to open up to us. Though we think his relatives he lives with aren't doing him any good. They, they we think they abuse him daddy." Parvati started tearing up at the thought.

Samesh put his hand on his daughter's shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. "He won't be going back to those people Parvati not if I can help it. Is there anything else you want to tell me about him? Anything you think I should know?"

And so his daughter gave him a quick summery of Harry's life at Hogwarts and how the Headmaster had not taught him anything about his house or about the magical world in general. Needless to say this upset not only the twins but Samesh as well. "It seems my dear that I need to have a discussion with your Headmaster. Please enjoy the rest of the evening and give my regards to harry and your sister." he smiled before leaving the table.

The rest of the evening was spent by the trio dancing and talking together. The twins would trade off dancing with harry and when he finally got tired they sat down and talked. Harry could not remember the last time he had this much fun in a single night.

Meanwhile with Samesh and Dumbledore

Albus to-many-names-and-titles Dumbledore was surveying the students as they enjoyed the evening next to him was the Deputy headmistress Minerva McGonagall, both enjoying a comfortable silence until a party guest joined them at their table.

"Would you mind if I joined you Headmaster, Professor?" Samesh Patil asked as he pulled out a chair.

"No of course not Ambassador, please sit." Albus said with his trademark twinkle. "I take it you had a nice discussion with your daughters' date?"

"It is fortunate you brought Harry up Headmaster there is something about him that I wish to discuss with you." Samesh stated firmly, he had many dealings with Dumbledore and the old wizard was as politically savvy as they came.

"I surmise you do not approve of Harry dating both of your daughters." Albus deduced.

"Actually Albus I whole heartily approve. In fact I am at least partly responsible for the complicated circumstances that brought them together." Samesh countered before sipping his tea.

"Mr. Potter did mention something along the line of it being 'complicated' when the three of them showed up with the other champions." McGonagall mentioned genuinely intrigued and a little concerned as two of them were her lions.

"What complicated circumstances are you referring to Mr. Patil?" the headmaster inquired his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Without getting into the specifics due to Harry competing in this tournament he activated a clause in a contract that was written between myself and his own parents involving him and my daughters." at this point both the headmaster's and Professor McGonagall's eyes went wide.

"You don't mean?" the Scottish professor asked

"Indeed I do. Harry Potter is now betrothed to my daughters, and as such I will be opening my home to him to stay at." the ambassador stated sternly. "He will never be going back to those mundane relatives of his. There are also some issues over his current residence and his complete lack of knowledge about his titles and assets. I will seek to correct this oversight. "

"Now ambassador I can assure you that Harry is perfectly safe living with his relatives. And as his magical guardian I must insist that he stay there."

Samesh shook his head "Now Albus surely you have not forgotten that as Harry is participating in this tournament that is only open for adults then that means that he is legally considered an adult himself. It is this very reason that the contract was enacted so Harry is an adult or at the very least an emancipated minor and thus no longer requires a magical guardian." seeing that the Headmaster was about to protest further Samesh hardened his gaze.

"The protections at..." Albus began

"He will not be returning there Headmaster, my daughters have informed me that they believe that Harry is being abused by his relatives. Whatever protections you may have over that house obviously do not protect him from them." Samesh glared at the old headmaster

"Abuse? Albus you told me that no such thing would happen. I told you what kind of people they were, the worst sort of muggles I had told you. Did you think my fears unfounded? Did you not once check up on him to make sure of his wellbeing?" McGonagall was now very angry. Lilly, James even Sirius and Remus were some of her favorite if at time trying students. Not to mention her own personal relationship with Harry's grandmother Dorea when they were in school together.

Samesh was not done yet though. "You were only his Magical guardian in the absence of his parents and his godfather. In that role Albus you have failed, Harry knows nothing of his family, of house Potter, or even the culture of the wizarding community. Someone needs to teach him these things and it is obvious that you are unwilling to do so."

Albus now being glared at by both his friend and the ambassador decided the best move for now was to attempt a compromise. "I would be willing to give you custody of Harry while I retain the position as magical guardian. With your position ambassador you holding the Potter vote would be a serious conflict of interest." He tried to reason.

"One could say the same thing about you Chief Warlock." Samesh quickly responded switching to Dumbledore's wizengamoot title to illustrate his point. 'So that is why he wanted to retain Harry's guardianship he would control the Potter vote.' Samesh thought to himself growing ever more angered with the professor but maintaining his calm and composure. "I would suggest a different compromise then."

"And that would be?"

"Minerva would take the role as Harry's proxy in the wizengamoot. She was his father's godmother and knows a great deal about the Potter family from her own friendship with Dorea. Also as she does not hold any position in the government there would be no conflict of interest nor would it be seen as a political power play. And as Harry's Head of house here at Hogwarts she would be able to teach him some of what he needs to know before the year is out where I will take over during the summer. What do you say professor?" Samesh turned to the now shocked older teacher.

Both men looked at Minerva awaiting an answer. Albus knew the odds were not in his favor; Samesh had perfectly blended reason and emotion together in his argument to make it nearly air tight. His only chance of retaining guardianship of harry was if Minerva turned down the offer.

Minerva thought about it for a moment, and a moment was all she required, this was something she should have done that night Harry was left at the Dursley's. "I accept your proposal Mr. Patil."

Smiling Samesh turned back to the headmaster, "Well then I suppose that settles it then don't you agree Albus?"

"Very well, Minerva will take my place as Harry's proxy for the Potter vote." Albus conceded

"Excellent!" Samesh smiled "I will inform them tomorrow. They seem to be really enjoying themselves tonight. I hope you have a wonderful holiday Professors. I will be in touch." he finished before getting up and making his exit from the great hall.

As the ball came to a close Harry and the girls walked towards the Ravenclaw tower to drop off Padma. "I wish we didn't have to separate like this." She said holding harry close "being in different houses sucks."

"I know I really enjoy spending time with the two of you." harry replied giving her a gentle squeeze. While Parvati seemed deep in thought.

"Who says we can't spend more time together?" Parvati spoke up

"Sis both you and Harry are Gryffs and I don't think the rest of the Gryffs would take too kindly to me always being in the tower. Visiting once in a while is one thing but were would I stay?" Padma questioned.

"Well we could always ask Professor McGonagall to open up one of the married lord's suites." Parvati replied.

"I forgot all about those! We can ask her tomorrow after our meeting with dad." Padma smiled as they came to the entrance to Ravenclaw tower. She then turned to harry and looked directly into his eyes. "I had a wonderful night Harry." she blushed slightly before giving Harry a kiss on the lips. It was not a sloppy snog or a chaste kiss but a tender one filled with feeling. "I will see you both tomorrow." she said receiving a nod from her sister while harry was still a little dumbstruck from the kiss and smiling like a fool.

Harry and Parvati made their way to the Gryffindor tower holding hands both smiling. "Harry?" Parvati spoke up

"Yes Parv?" Harry had taken to using the twins own nick names for each other and they both liked it when he called them that.

"Dad was really impressed with you tonight."

"Well I am just glad I didn't mess it up." Harry smiled his nerves soothed slightly

"He wants to meet with us tomorrow to talk about things and what our plans will be for the rest of the holidays. After that we can talk to McGonagall about the Lord's quarters so the three of us can always be together." She finished a tad dreamily

Harry went red at the implications of that and nearly tripped as they entered the portrait hole to the common room. Fortunately it was late and no one was still up. "Does that mean that the three of us would be um ah sharing a ume bed?"

Parvati laughed slightly at his shyness. "No Harry it doesn't, usually those quarters have two bedrooms. The second is usually for guests or if the married couple has children. Me and Pad would take the second room we usually share a bedroom at home anyways." when they reached the stairs to the girls dorms she leaned into her date. "Well I guess this is where we part." she smiled awaiting her own kiss

"So it seems" harry said before leaning down and capturing her lips with his own. Like Padma's kiss this one was very tender but this one had a bit more lust accompanying it and it showed when Parvati let out a slight moan when they broke the kiss.

"Though I wouldn't mind sharing a bed with you Harry." She whispered into his ear before turning up the stairs. "Good night Harry pleasant dreams." she finished with a smirk knowing what she did to him.

That night Harry had very pleasant dreams indeed. For the first time in a long time he had no nightmares and his scar had not so much as twinged in the past few days.

The next morning Harry met Parvati in the common room at about 10am so they could go and get her sister before meeting their dad for brunch at the three broomsticks. They needed to decide what they were going to do for the rest of the holidays as the express left Hogsmead that afternoon. Unfortunately for the two Ron Weasley was sitting in the common room and doing his best to give both of them the evil eye. He hadn't even gone to the ball and spent the whole night in his room sulking and being angry at Harry. The night had not lessened his mood against his friend as he watched him leave.

"Hey Ron what's wrong? You look constipated maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey." Katie Bell commented as she came down from the girls' dorms

Apparently he would have to work on his evil eye...

Meanwhile Harry and Parvati had met up with Padma and had made their way into Hogsmead. The little village was very quiet despite it being late in the morning. The students at the castle were either asleep or busy packing and most of the shops were closed up for the holidays. As the three entered the Three Broomsticks they were approached by the owner/barmaid Madam Rosemerta.

"Ah the Misses Patil and Mr. Potter it is good to see you. Your father has booked a private room and asked me to direct you there when you came in." she said with a smile "Up the stairs and the second door on the left. I will be up shortly for your order." with that the three went right up the stairs. "Ah young love." she smiled before returning to work.

they entered the room and found it to be set up as an informal dining area with a small circular table with four chairs around it, Mr. Patil was already seated at the table and drinking a cup of tea. "Ah good morning girls, Harry." He smiled looking up from his cup. "We have much to discuss."

Padma and Parvati talked lightly with their father for several moments while harry just listened. They asked about how their mother was doing and about their grandfather. To hear the magical king of India being referred to as 'gramps' was incredibly humorous. Soon Madam Rosemerta came up and took their orders, and the conversation took a turn for harry to be more talkative. Samesh would ask him questions nothing really invasive or private but things like his hobbies, his favorite subjects and teachers, normal things and that meant a great deal to Harry to feel normal. This continued through the meal and at the end everyone was sipping tea.

"Well not it is time to discuss some more serious topics. Harry as you know participating in this tournament has labeled you legally as an adult." Harry nodded to the elder Patil's statement. "This has more consequences then just the betrothal contract. It means that you no longer require a magical guardian."

At this Harry tilted his head causing both the girls to giggle at his expression. "Um a what sir?"

"I thought as much." Samesh sighed. "A magical guardian is the person who in the absence of your parents was supposed to teach you about the magical world and also holds your family's seat in the Wizengamoot as a proxy. Till now Dumbledore was your magical guardian with your parents dead. For him to not even inform you of his status as your guardian proves to me what I had already thought. Parvati informed me about your lack of knowledge of House Potter this means that the headmaster has been incredibly negligent in his duties in this regard yet he never has failed to use the Potter vote whenever the Wizengamoot in in session." harry was silent disbelieving that the headmaster would just use him for political gains. "There is some good news to him no longer being your guardian; you can now appoint a proxy for yourself thought I do have a suggestion."

Harry nodded the sisters on either side of him squeezing his hands in support.

"I myself cannot take that role as it would conflict with my obligations to my father and to India it would be a conflict of interest. I would suggest your head of house Professor McGonagall as a proxy. That way you have ease of access to her and she will keep you informed of the goings on. She also was very good friends with your grandmother." Samesh suggested

"My, my grandmother?" Harry asked with emotion in his voice. He knew so very little about his parents. And knew nothing about his grandparents.

"Yes, Dorea Potter, formerly Dorea Black. The two of them went to school together, Dorea in Slytherin and Minerva in Gryffindor. They stayed very close in fact she was your father's godmother. She would also be able to tell you a lot about your family."

Parvati gave Harry's hand a squeeze and he turned his head to her. "Harry I think you should go for it. McGonagall is always fair with her students and I know she likes you. Hell she has you doing fifth year assignments to do after you completes your classwork." Harry looked at her surprised; he thought he was only a little bit ahead of some of the others but to be nearly a whole year ahead.

"Yeah Flitwick says the same about you. I think Professor Lupin told him you could perform the patronus charm so the work he has been giving you is way ahead of the rest of us." Padma added

"I had no idea." Harry said. Unlike Ron who would try and get Hermione to do his work Harry always did it on his own. he never had any real problems understanding the material so with Ron's constant complaints and Hermione saying that it was easy he thought he was somewhere in the middle.

Padma got a smile seeing how Harry was taking this. Beside quidditch he never really excelled at anything not wanting the attention. for two of his favorite teachers to know this about him, to allow him to excel without calling much overt attention to it even to the point that he didn't realize it was both touching and baffling. "Also Harry we have to ask her about the Lord's quarters for us to use."

Samesh raised an eyebrow at this, sure he liked Harry but for them to already wanting to share a bedroom was perhaps moving a bit too fast. "Though it would be a good idea for the three of you to grow closer I hope that you would be responsible in It." he said in a bit of a hesitant voice before switching topics. "Now we have to decide what you want to do for the rest of the holidays."

The twins shared a look before Parvati started. "We want to stay here Daddy. I don't think introducing Harry to the family during the chaos of the holidays would be the best thing."

"Plus we have to help him prepare for the second task." Padma added on.

Samesh agreed with his daughters' reasoning even if they stayed at the ambassador's manor it would still be really hectic what with all the parties and events. As for returning to India for the holidays, that had its own issues. For someone as shy as young Harry to be living in the royal palace would be hard to adapt to, what with the dozens of servants and the constant spotlight of being betrothed to the emperor's grand-daughters. "An excellent idea! I would say the three of you working together will be able to prepare for the next task quite well. Then I shall take my leave, father has requested my presence to update him on the contract and how you are all dealing with it. I believe he will be quite pleased." he finished giving his daughters a hug and a firm hand shake to Harry before they left the room to return to Hogwarts.

Upon returning to the castle they ran into just the teacher they were hoping to talk to.

"Mr. Potter if I could have a word with you in my office." Professor McGonagall said motioning down the hall to her office.

"Professor there is something we want to talk to you about as well." Parvati said moving to follow Harry with her sister just behind.

"I thought as much. You just came from a meeting with Mr. Patil am I correct?" she asked receiving a nod in return. "And he informed you of the compromise we agreed upon?" Again nods from all three students. "Well what have you decided?"

Harry stepped forward "Professor I would be honored if you would be my proxy in the wizengamoot as well as my teacher for the things I have to know as the head of house Potter. Though I do have one condition."

"And what is that mister Potter?" Minerva replied genuinely surprised by this.

"I would like it if you could tell me more about my parents, about my family." Harry had to force himself not to choke on the words with his nerves

Minerva smiled a kind gentle smile. "It would be my pleasure Harry, to be honest though many compare you to your mother and father, you remind me more of your grandmother. Never searching for the spotlight but when those close to you are threatened never shying away from a challenge. Though she was more cunning about it being a Slytherin after all."

Harry smiled as a small tear ran down his cheek. this was what he wanted for so long to learn more about his family and where he came from and now he had someone to tell him all sorts of stories about is parents, about Sirius and even his grandparents.

"Professor there is one more thing we would like to ask you." Padma interjected "We would like a place where the three of us can spend more time together as well as a private place for your lessons with Harry."

Parvati picked off. "To that end we request that the lord's chambers be opened up for us."

Minerva sighed. "I had anticipated that you would ask for that and they have already been set up for you. But before I show you the quarters I feel as I must iterate that this is not a pass for you to engage in, physical and intimate activities are we clear. "She finished sternly receiving three very enthusiastic nods "Well let us be off to your new quarters."

**End chapter one. **

**Wow that was a long one. Again sorry for not posting something sooner but think of this extra-long chapter as an apology. Please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n hey everyone here is the next chapter! hope you all like it!**

"Wow" the three students gaped at seeing their new place of residence.

"Yes the Lord's quarters are rather impressive it has been quite some time since they have been opened." Minerva said as the young ones gazed around the common room. It was fairly large with several couches and chairs gathered round a large fireplace. On the other side of the room sat a large table with a alcove covered in bookshelves and on the far wall from entrance was a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor which overlooked the first. "Up the stairs on the far right will be Mr Potter's room, Misses Patil you two will be sharing the room on the far left. Please note that the bathroom is shared between the two room and do use the appropriate locking charms to prevent any... incidents." Wll three blushed at the implication. "Well I will leave you to settle in. If you need anything please call for Dobby, he volunteered to be the house elf for this suite, quite enthusiastically I might add. I will be returning latter in the evening for a lesson with you Mr. Potter with a special gift I think you will like. Good day to you." she finished before turning to leave the young companions to explore the room.

"Wonder what she meant by that?" Padma said as her sister inspected the couches.

"I don't know but from the look in her eye it was something important." Harry replied

"Well I think we should spend some time together before Harry has to have his lessons with the Professor. Why don't you continue telling us your adventures Harry? I remember you telling us about Dobby and what happened during our second year but what about third?" Parvati interjected. these storytelling times were one of the ways they got Harry to open up. they never asked questions until the end and always waited for him to go at his own pace. So far they had covered first and second year and a little bit of the summers between. The Dursleys was a subject that was usually avoiding and neither sister pushed knowing that it would be better to let him open up on his own.

And so Harry began telling them of his third year. Of blowing up his uncle's sister, his first encounter with the monster book of monsters, both of which the girls found entertaining. The girls were fascinated by his patronus training and what it spoke of his power. According to old Indian teachings the patronus is one of the ultimate forms of soul based magic, the purest representation of positive emotions such as love and happiness. But Harry's seemed to draw more from sorrow than love, when asked what memory he used he said it was his mother's voice.

As the hours wore on the three ended up on the couch together, Harry between to two girls as they embraced him. He started to break down when telling him how close he was to losing Sirius, to losing his only family. their response besides hugging him was to tell him. "You do have a family, we are your family." and he believed them.

"Speaking of family, Mr. Potter I believe it is time for you to learn more about yours." Professor McGonagall said from the entryway of the room. The occupants had not heard her caused the girls to jump and Harry start sputtering embarrassed as he stammered to the professor who seemed to be holding something.

on one of the walls by the study corner of the room Minerva hung what seemed to be a painting but the painting itself was all black. "This is the present I had for you Mr. Potter, something that was entrusted to me by your grandmother I had honestly forgot it existed until this holiday and it will be very helpful in teaching you about the Potter family." she tapped the frame with her wand. "Mr. Potter, Harry, may I introduce to you Dorea Potter. your grandmother and at one time my best friend."

the portrait lit up with a castle background, the castle seemed to be almost embedded into the mountainside it was on. the surrounding rocks a rich and deep red but that was not the focus of the painting. In the foreground was a woman who appeared to be in her mid forties with angular aristocratic features and wavy black hair contrasting to alabaster skin. her eyes opened to show a mix steely blue and violet as she scanned the room.

"Minnie! to be honest I am surprised it took you this long to remember I gave you my alternate frame."

Parvati giggles slightly. "Minnie?" she whispered to her sister.

"Now Minnie Charles and myself have been locked up in Redcliff for nearly two decades with the guardians telling us that James and Lily were dead and Sirius was in prison." her gaze hardened "Now you are going to tell me what happened and where my grandson in. So I will ask you this one last time. Where is my grandson?"

"He is right here Dorea," Minnierva said as she motioned to Harry gobsmacked at the living portrait. "And he is the very reason I remembered your frame. I have been tasked with teaching him about the Potter family and his status in our world."

Dorea tilted her head slightly at this. "Tasked? It is not that I do not approve Minnie but I think there are some things you must explain to me first. What happened to Sirius? and the Longbottoms? or my niece Andromeda? Who has been looking after my grandson?" she paused noticing the two other witches in the room sitting next to Harry. "And who might you two be?"

"I am Padma."

"And I am Parvati."

"Ah Samesh's daughters. I was aware that my son was in talks with your parents. Lily was hesitant about it before she was assured that it wouldn't be as binding as some other contracts like what happened to her friends my other two nieces." Dorea smiled before it faded thinking of the fates of her family. "This brings me back to my question however as to who was looking after my grandson."

"Dursleys." Harry mumbled "I grew up with my aunt and her family."

"Dursleys." Dorea spat. "I only met them once at your parent's wedding and I can honestly say they are some of the most vile people I have ever met, who in their right mind would send you there is beyond me."

"Dumbledore said that the blood wards there would protect me, but they never helped against them." Harry said looking to the floor.

Dorea's features softened "we will speak of this another time Harry. When you are ready to. For now why don't you tell me more about yourself. If my memory serves you would be in your fourth year now?"

And so the two spent time talking Harry learned much about his family and his grandmother. Padma went to do some reading while Parvati went to gossip with Lavender. Minerva left the two alone to talk. it was a long afternoon and Dorea was very very upset over many of the things that Harry had endured and also very proud of how he handled himself and the man he was becoming. she had the same thoughts about the tournament that he did, that it was a deathtrap, but she vowed to help him as much as she could.

"You spoke about your nieces before? who are they? do I have more family?" Harry asked. for a boy who grew up alone and wanting to be accepted the thought of having an actual family was so enticing,

"Yes, yes I did. I was born Dorea Black before I married Charles Potter. Though I married a pureblood lord, A duke no less, I never bought into the blood purity teachings that they fell into. of all of them Regulus, Sirius's younger brother was the only one who did. He died however shortly before I did. My nieces however looked up to me alot, the oldest Andromeda ran away with some muggle born wizard names Ted Tonks. They had been sweethearts for a long time but her parents were going to sell her off with a marriage contract, she escaped that fate but her sisters did not. Bellatrix, or Bella as she liked to be called was the most protective of her sisters. A regular spitfire my husband used to say. She and Sirius were such good friends as well as rivals both trying to become a better duelist then the other. The contract her father forced her in stripped her of her will and turned her into something she was not. And Narcissa the the youngest was best friends with your mother the two of them were always studying together and getting back at the boys when they pulled one of their pranks. But when she was sold off to Malfoy she became so cold. I miss them a great deal." She sighed thinking of what had become of her family.

Harry was once again surprised, not only was he actually related to a witch as infamous as Bellatrix Lestrange but he was also related to Malfoy his school rival. "Wait what do you mean a duke? We are nobility?"

"Why yes Harry" Dorea smiled at her grandson. "The Potter lord is known as the Duke of Redcliff, the very castle that sits behind me in this painting is the Castle Redcliff. I guess this is as good a place as any to start telling you about your heritage." she then began to teach her grandson all she knew of the Potter line as well as a few stories from his parent's childhood to raise his spirits. Occasionally Minerva would chime in or take over the lesson but the rest of the afternoon blurred together as they talked and by dinner time Harry knew much more about his family then he ever did before.

Harry walked down to the great hall his mind still sifting through all that he had learned. he was the Duke of Redcliff, actually had his own castle, that was guarded by dragons no less.

"Harry!" he heard someone call his name turning he noticed Cedric walking up towards him. "Hey Harry I just wanted to thank you for the heads up you gave me about the dragons for the first task. If you hadn't have told me well I don't know what I would have done."

"It's no problem Cedric." Harry replied

"Have you figured out your egg yet?" Harry shook his head "Well honestly I think a nice long bath might help you figure it out. Bring the egg with you and maybe your two girlfriends eh? Oh the password is pine fresh by the way." Cedric finished with a smirk and a wink leaving a blushing Harry.

Dinner passed much as it had for the days leading up to the ball with Harry sitting between his two fiance's. though the hall was a little less crowded than usual many of the students took the train home for the remainder of the holiday break earlier in the day. Harry however was focused more on what Cedric had told him. Sure the hint about the egg was great but the intimacy he implied with Harry and the twins is something he himself struggled with. Having never known such intimacy or being loved much at all made him rather nervous and shy but he really wanted to move forward in their relationship. Now he had a goal and his drive would not let him fail.

Now he just had to work up the courage to ask the girls to bathe with him.


	3. Announcement

Announcement!

Happy N7 day everyone! I hope you had a good one and celebrated well!

As many of you know I recently have been going through a lot of changes in my life this past year. With my mom's sickness and death still affecting me I have found it hard to keep writing some of my older stories or have decided to completely rework and rewrite them.

I have found that my one-shot series Woman of the Web is something I can really jump into and just crank out a chapter as an almost therapeutic session without having to really worry about complicated plot lines. So expect to see a lot more from that series in the coming weeks and months.

Another thing I am hard at work on is a new story I teased in the Pamela Isley chapter of WotW. Spidey's Vegas Wedding will premiere by the end of november with a first chapter hopefully reaching 8,000 words at least. I am still keeping the identity of the lovely lady that will become attached to our favorite hero under my hat, because the surprise is part of the fun!

After that in December I plan to focus more on the Spectacular Summer as well as trying ot get another chapter in for my Harry Potter and the Surprising Marriage Contract story out in time for christmas or at least new years.

Two Spiders I have no immediate plans on for the future so to everyone who is waiting for more on that story I am sorry. However I have not forgotten about it and am making notes on where i would like to go with it in the future. I will most likely return to it some time early next year.

Naruto however is a story I am unsure if i will ever be coming back to. It was a story that I had at first such grand plans for with a word count that would go into the hundreds of thousands. Sadly my life became very complicated and I just lost the muse to write that particular story. If anyone would like to use parts of the original or the little bit that I had rewritten you are more then welcome to do so. And if some brave soul wishes to adopt that story and make it their own let me know.

The Black Family beginnings story prompt still has no takers, perhaps next year sometime I will take this up myself and write for it. I still encourage anyone who would like to, to take up the challenge. I would love to see what you are capable of!

Lastly is in regards to my story Spider-man: Lazarus. In honor of N7 day and the Mass Effect inspiration for this story I have decided to do a complete overhaul of it and have already begun the initial editing and will be re releasing it later on.

However don't hold your breath waiting for its release. Karen Starr will be showing up for Women of the Web tomorrow or monday because tuesday I am going on a trip. Where you ask? Why to the bombed out remains of Boston after the Great War. I will be stepping out of Vault 111 and seeing what adventures await me! Fallout 4 launches tuesday and that will probably eat up the rest of my week.

Again I would like to thank all of you who have stuck with me during this trying time. The online community has really helped me and hopefully in these next few month I can get back into the writing groove and really show what I am capable of. Read on, Write on and Review on fellow fanfiction enthusiasts.


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